The Pittsburgh Pirates battled to a comeback 12-6 victory Saturday evening over the Chicago Cubs. Josh Bell had the big hit, a grand slam in his second Major League at-bat. “We were having a blast,” said pitcher Arquimedes Caminero. “It was a fun time playing baseball, playing as hard as we could to win the game. That’s what we try to do when we go out there.” https://twitter.com/Jedidiah412/status/751958240980787200 This afternoon, the Pirates will try to earn a series sweep of the ... Read More
Hell’s Bell: Bell’s grand slam helps provides Pirates win
There already were fireworks by the fifth inning celebrating Pittsburgh's Bicentennial, but in Saturday's Pittsburgh Pirates game against the Chicago Cubs, Josh Bell was not satisfied. In his second major league game, Bell took a swing at a 1-1 Adam Warren (3-2) pitch and when he saw it in the air, gave a jump and fist pump all while screaming "let's go" as he rounded the bases for his first career home run. Bell had hit a grand slam 107 miles-per-hour off the bat and was the first ... Read More
Injuries and a birthday set stage for Saturday’s Pirates game
After a big comeback win Friday against the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates hope there's another win in store when they take on the Cubs for the second game of the series. Saturday, Pirates rookie Chad Kuhl (1-0. 4.09 ERA) will face Chicago's Jon Lester (9-4, 2.67 ERA). The game will be Kuhl's third career Major League start. In his first, he defeated Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw; Kuhl tossed five innings and allowed three runs. In his most recent start, Kuhl battled ... Read More
Pirates’ Marte named to All-Star Game
It was thought that Starling Marte would not make his first career All-Star Game appearance when he placed second in the National League Final Vote, but Saturday afternoon that was not revealed to be the case. Marte will be heading to San Diego replacing Yoenis Cespedes. “It’s been a crazy 24 hours," he said. "It was definitely an emotional ride thinking it wasn’t going to happen. I am excited, this is something that I really have worked hard to go to and I’m really looking forward to the ... Read More
Pirates solve Cubs’ Arrieta in big win
In the sixth inning, Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman David Freese's committed a costly error, allowing the Chicago Cubs to take a lead for the first time all night — something that's considered a cardinal sin when Cubs' ace Jake Arrieta is on the mound. Yet the Pirates got away with it, winning 8-4. This win allowed the Pirates to snap an eight-game losing streak to NL Central opponents, and the division-leading Cubs have now lost eight of their past nine games. In Friday's game, the ... Read More
Midseason Report Card: Pirates’ offense shines, pitching struggles
When Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker — and their combined 43 home runs — departed last off-season, the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to make up for the lost power with a high on-base approach. Their replacements, John Jaso and Josh Harrison, fit that mold. Before the start of the 2016 season, Pittsburgh was also hoping Starling Marte would continue his surge to stardom, while Gregory Polanco was expected to break out and show why he was a former top prospect. David Freese was signed as a temporary ... Read More
Glasnow looks strong in MLB debut, Pirates unable to beat Cardinals
The Tyler Glasnow Era got off to a solid start Thursday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium — albeit in a 5-2 loss. Glasnow, in his first MLB start, went toe-to-toe with Cardinal ace Adam Wainwright in a pitcher's duel that saw the rookie go five-and-one-third innings before turning the reins over to reliever Arquimedes Caminero. A three-run homer by Stephen Piscotty off Caminero sealed Glasnow's fate. The rookie right-hander would end up allowing four runs on three ... Read More
Mazeroski Statue symbolic for engaged Pirates co-workers
March 25, 2015 started off as a “lousy” day for Marion Shipton as she walked hand-in-hand along PNC Park with Tom Leturgey. What she didn't realize was that particular Wednesday would change her life. At the Roberto Clemente Statue, Shipton broke off from Leturgey, further detailing her awful day. Shipton thought she was there because Leturgey had invited her to take a walk around PNC Park — but he had a different motive. He had a ring in his pocket and the approval of Shipton's ... Read More
How do Pirates match up against potential playoff aces?
It's funny. On July 4, I said this week is a make-or-break week to keep the Pirates' playoff hopes alive. All they've done since is take the first two games of the series against the Cardinals — in St. Louis — to push Pittsburgh's winning streak to six games. Suddenly, the Chicago Cubs are in reach, and the magnitude of this weekend's series against Chicago is even bigger. Still, I don't think, under any circumstances, the Pirates will be able to win the NL Central. If they get into the ... Read More
Rodriguez uses bat, glove to secure series win for Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mark Melancon came in for the ninth inning to close out the latest come-from-behind game, this time over the St. Louis Cardinals — and, at Busch Stadium, something made him feel at home: his typical entrance music, AC/DC's “Thunderstruck.” What followed was a scoreless inning (extending his shutout streak to 20.1 innings), good for Melancon's 26th save of the season and for a 7-5 Pittsburgh win. The Pirates have made a habit of coming back late. Tuesday, they ... Read More